dyeing larger leather item

[stampingdelight]

hello everyone,

what is the best way everyone found when dyeing a large piece of leather. think is little over 1 foot and half to 2 feet? other item looking to dye would be 3 to 4 feet long once get made.  has anyone dipped leather into the dye, if so what is best to use like a plastic bucket?

Edited Friday at 12:32 AM by stampingdelight

[fredk]

When doing a long item I dip dye. I dilute the dye 1 : 1. I use any deep container that I had to hand. Then roll the item up in a coil and place it in the dye for a minute or so then a I see-saw it; an old technique for developing films; I bring the two ends of the item out of the dye then with each end in each hand I slowly dip one end in the dye and pull the other end further out, then that end gets dipped and the first end comes out. I do this for as long as necessary to get an even dye

1.5 ft by 2 ft;  I wet the leather first, then use a 1 or 1.5 inch wide paint brush to apply the diluted dye, working from the center to the edges

[kgg]

1 hour ago, stampingdelight said:

what is the best way everyone found when dyeing a large piece of leather.

Airbrushing for both the dye and oiling.

kgg

[stampingdelight]

19 hours ago, kgg said:

@kgg

 

what kind of airbrush 

Edited Friday at 09:20 PM by stampingdelight

[stampingdelight]

@fredk

k worth trying if need more help will ask encase did something wrong or could of done better. last time I dyed I started on the edges, so starting in center might be better will give it a try. 

[dikman]

16 minutes ago, stampingdelight said:

what kind of airbrush 

A big one! Airbrushes aren't intended for covering large areas. A normal spraygun will be overkill for that but you can get small sprayguns which are used for detail work.

[kgg]

18 hours ago, stampingdelight said:

what kind of airbrush

I use single action airbrushes as I just couldn't get the hang of the double action airbrushes, like the Timbertech Airbrush Kit and the Paasche Airbrush that are siphon feed rather then gravity feed with the braided nylon hoses. I would push the pressure probably up to 40 - 45 lbs from my normal of 30lbs. You may have to:

i) use a real compressor rather then an airbrush compressor just for the volume of air that maybe required.

ii) detail spray gun like the Titan Tools Siphon Feed Detail Spray Gun if the consistency in doing the large pieces isn't what you need and to reduce the number of dye bottle changes. The airbrushes that I have can realistically hold about 20ml while the detail spray gun could probably hold close to 200ml. 

I have done 2' x 2' pieces of leather using my airbrushes with the airbrush compressor for both oiling (JOJOBA oil) and dying. 

I would definitely try the inexpensive Timbertech airbrush first, practice on a piece of cardboard of the same size first to get your spray and your rhyme right.

This topic on my setup may help.

 

Edited 10 hours ago by kgg

[dikman]

A good point, the external-mix siphon-feed are better suited to what you want to do as they generally have a wider spray pattern than a double-action internal mix - plus they are cheaper, easier to use and simpler to clean.

Edited 4 hours ago by dikman

[TonyV]

I used a trim paint roller on a 2'x 9" piece recently.  worked well.

My basic theory; larger piece, larger applicator.